Source Verification: Ariadne

Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

What the Sources Attest

What happened to Ariadne in the end?

The ancient sources give different endings. Homer's Odyssey, the oldest, says Artemis killed her on the island of Dia on the word of Dionysus, before Theseus could bring her to Athens. Hesiod's Theogony makes her the wife of Dionysus and says Zeus made her deathless and unageing. Apollodorus has Dionysus carry her off from Naxos to Lemnos, where she bore him four sons. Plutarch adds still more endings: suicide by hanging, marriage to a priest on Naxos, or death in childbirth on Cyprus.

Source: Homer, Odyssey 11.321-325; Hesiod, Theogony 947-949

Why did Theseus abandon Ariadne on Naxos?

The sources do not agree, and some do not blame Theseus at all. Apollodorus says only that Dionysus fell in love with Ariadne on Naxos and carried her off. Pausanias thought Dionysus took her from Theseus with a stronger fleet. Plutarch reports a tradition that Theseus left her because he loved another woman, Aegle. Catullus and Ovid simply show Theseus sailing away while Ariadne is left on the shore of Dia, and Catullus has her call him a traitor who broke his oath.

Source: Apollodorus, Epitome 1.9; Plutarch, Life of Theseus 20

What is Ariadne's curse?

In Catullus's Poem 64, Ariadne, abandoned on Dia, calls on the Furies to punish Theseus. She asks that the same forgetful mind that let him leave her should bring ruin on him and his family. Jupiter nods in assent. Theseus then forgets his father's instruction to replace his dark sails with white ones as he nears Athens. Aegeus sees the dark sail, believes his son is dead, and throws himself from the heights. Apollodorus tells the same fatal mistake without a curse, blaming Theseus's grief for Ariadne.

Source: Catullus, Carmina 64.132-264

What happened between Dionysus and Ariadne?

Dionysus made Ariadne his wife. Hesiod's Theogony says so directly, adding that Zeus made her deathless and unageing for him. Apollodorus says Dionysus fell in love with her on Naxos, carried her off to Lemnos, and had four sons by her. Ovid says he found her abandoned and lamenting, and set her crown among the stars so her name would last. Homer's Odyssey tells a darker story: Artemis killed Ariadne because of Dionysus's testimony against her, which Homer leaves unexplained.

Source: Hesiod, Theogony 947-949; Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.169-182

Did Dionysus and Ariadne have a child?

Yes, according to Apollodorus, who names four sons of Dionysus and Ariadne: Thoas, Staphylus, Oenopion and Peparethus, born after the god brought her to Lemnos. Plutarch shows the parentage was disputed. He records that some writers, including the poet Ion of Chios, made Oenopion and Staphylus sons of Theseus instead. Some Naxians told of two Ariadnes, and made the one who married Dionysus the mother of Staphylus and his brother.

Source: Apollodorus, Epitome 1.9; Plutarch, Life of Theseus 20

Where Accounts Differ

death on Dia or immortal marriage
why Theseus left Ariadne
Dia or Naxos
father of Oenopion and Staphylus

Whether Ariadne died or became immortal is the central disagreement. Homer's Odyssey says Artemis killed her on Dia on the word of Dionysus. Hesiod's Theogony says Dionysus married her and Zeus made her deathless and unageing. Pausanias records an Argive tradition that she died and Dionysus buried her at Argos.
Why Ariadne was left behind differs by source. Apollodorus and Pausanias have Dionysus take her from Theseus. Plutarch reports a tradition that Theseus left her for love of Aegle. Catullus and Ovid show Theseus sailing away and leaving her on the shore of Dia.
The island is named differently. Homer, Catullus and Ovid name Dia. Apollodorus and Plutarch name Naxos. One tradition in Plutarch, from Paeon of Amathus, moves her death to Cyprus.
The fathers of Oenopion and Staphylus are disputed. Apollodorus makes them sons of Dionysus. Plutarch cites Ion of Chios for making them sons of Theseus.

Sources

Primary sources

Homer, Odyssey 11.321-325
Homer, Iliad 18.590-592
Hesiod, Theogony 947-949
Apollodorus, Epitome 1.8-1.10
Catullus, Carmina 64.52-264
Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.169-182
Plutarch, Life of Theseus 20
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.20.3
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.23.7-2.23.8
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.29.3-10.29.4